Waiʻale Project Surfaces for Review by Maui Planning Commission

Waiale Master Plan map, photo courtesy PBR Hawaii & Associates Inc., & State of Hawaii FEIS document.

The Maui Planning Commission today (Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015), will consider a change in zoning and community plan amendment for a portion of the proposed Waiʻale master planned residential community in Waikapū.

The commission will also consider Phase I district approval for the Waiʻale South Project District, located on approximately 122.6 acres in the vicinity of the southwest corner of the Kuihelani Highway and East Waikō Road intersection.

The meeting will include testimony and was scheduled to convene at 9 a.m. in the Planning Department Conference Room in the Kalana Pakui Building on South High Street in Wailuku.

The Maui Tomorrow Foundation has indicated that it would be testifying against the project.  The group claims that while the project has an affordable component, it “will not be affordable to local families.”  The organization notes that 225 of the 950 units will sell at between $300,000 and $570,000.  The other 725 can be any price, according to Maui Tomorrow.

The organization also claims that the Wai`ale development plan map is not what was shown to the State Land Use Commission, and states that a park along Waikapū Stream is now proposed to be half the size of one that was on the previous version of the map.

The organization is also seeking a more complete archaeological review and is asking the Planning Commission to recommend review by the Cultural Resources Commission and restoration of the original proposed park before they recommend approval of this proposed plan.